There are two kinds of fears, rational and irrational. Being afraid of realtors is an irrational fear.
— Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events
HOW TO PLAY:
Comment with your character. In the body of your top-level, your character is forced to admit their biggest, darkest fear. Maybe they assumed no one was listening, or perhaps this is the work of a magical truth serum. Either way, it's out in the open now.
Other characters can offer comfort, judgement, or probing psychological questions to delve into the root of this.
An especially evil character might look for ways to exploit this newfound information... but you wouldn't do that, would you?
Anything involving images, especially spooky images, should be linked and tagged.
The Federation embraces religious pluralism and freedom to express one's beliefs so long as they do not oppress or lead to the psychological or physical harm of others. Member planets, however, largely tend towards atheism.
Okay, well, psychological harm might be a bit extreme, but Jehovah's Witnesses sorta teeter on that edge between religiously free and vaguely sketchy salesmen.
They come to your house, they knock on your door, they leave letters in your mailbox, they wait outside your house, and once you start talking to them, they're just... super persistent. You can't shake 'em.
( ... )
You know, maybe it's not a fear of those guys specifically, but a greater fear of never-ending awkward conversations and polite refusals.
However, as I am only half-human, I do not tend to find either conversation or long silences awkward. Vulcans are comfortable without speaking for extended periods of time.
[ More often, he's the one causing the awkward conversation or silence. ]
[ Speaking of. Spock's face immediately blanks. He folds his hands behind his back and stiffly says: ]
The last time I was unable to retain adequate control of my emotions, I nearly beat a man to death with my bare hands. Had I killed him, I would have directly caused Captain Kirk's death.
[ Even to Eddie, he isn't willing to speak about the secret of how Jim did die — and how only leaving Khan alive allowed the ship's chief medical officer to bring Jim back from that death. ]
( maybe they'll get to the point where eddie can learn the whole story in the future. still, he looks content with this version. he doesn't speak, but he doesn't appear too perturbed by the tale. if anything, he thinks it makes sense. no one can bottle up their emotions without exploding.
( eddie's operating on principle here, so he can't break first, even when venom makes it known just how BORRRINGGGGG it is.
he considers pulling out his phone, but that's not particularly awkward. that's normal, really. it's the most normal thing to do when sharing a space with someone you're not actively talking to.
so he rises, and approaches spock, and stands at his side. he stands as close as humanly possible without touching him. )
[ Spock is also operating on principle. And spite. It is curious how often he finds himself choosing illogical courses of action based on spite. He will meditate over this observation at a later time.
At the moment, Spock choose to give Eddie a long, unimpressed stare.
After a moment, very pointedly, he lifts his hand. Opens it, palm towards Eddie.
( as stubborn as eddie is, it's really starting to feel like he's not going to win this one.
he's made his point — it's clear that spock really, truly doesn't feel awkward within awkward silences — so eddie can move this thing along, and they can get to talking about more fascinating things, like anything that isn't this.
spock is going for his palm, though, and eddie raises his eyebrows. this is a fear that has the highest likelihood of being overcome within a reasonable amount of time. he's not going to get over his fear of fire, or heights, or xenophages, but he can probably be okay with taking spock's hand.
[ Spock blinks as Eddie actually takes his hand. ]
Fascinating. [ Okay, so he lost the silence contest. He no longer cares, more occupied with looking down at where they're touching skin to skin, feeling the quicksilver run of Eddie's emotions. ] I predicted you would avoid this.
( like his emotions, which oscillate wildly between 'hey, this isn't so bad' to 'oh, fuck, i've been laid bare and i'm going to die'. there's not even the joy of winning their dumb game — he's too consumed by the thought of being exposed. what's there to expose? he doesn't know. anxiety is such a massless dread, sometimes it's just like being afraid of being afraid. )
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parrygripp) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bakerstreet2025-02-11 02:48 pm
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They’re… a religion. They’re a sect of Christianity.
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Please clarify. What delineates them to the degree that you consider them a phobia?
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And they’re just kind of…
Aggressive.
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They are... aggressively Christian?
[ He is genuinely trying so hard here. ]
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They come to your house, they knock on your door, they leave letters in your mailbox, they wait outside your house, and once you start talking to them, they're just... super persistent. You can't shake 'em.
( ... )
You know, maybe it's not a fear of those guys specifically, but a greater fear of never-ending awkward conversations and polite refusals.
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[ There it is, the furrowed brow of abject confusion. ]
I have observed that many humans are excessively fearful of awkward conversation.
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( we love a furrow!! if eddie wasn't suffering from an acute fear of being known, he'd kiss that brow. )
Even you? If you're half-human, that mean you're half-afraid of long, awkward moments?
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[ Too late for Eddie, the furrow vanishes. ]
However, as I am only half-human, I do not tend to find either conversation or long silences awkward. Vulcans are comfortable without speaking for extended periods of time.
[ More often, he's the one causing the awkward conversation or silence. ]
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( speaking of conversations— )
What happened the last time you lost control?
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The last time I was unable to retain adequate control of my emotions, I nearly beat a man to death with my bare hands. Had I killed him, I would have directly caused Captain Kirk's death.
[ Even to Eddie, he isn't willing to speak about the secret of how Jim did die — and how only leaving Khan alive allowed the ship's chief medical officer to bring Jim back from that death. ]
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it's, like, a physiological thing. )
...
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some might even consider this silence a bit… awkward. )
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Then, he settles a bit more comfortably into his almost parade-rest stance and waits. ]
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silently.
he sits back in his chair and waits. )
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After a while, he even begins a bout of light meditation. He is, after all, an excellent multitasker. ]
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he considers pulling out his phone, but that's not particularly awkward. that's normal, really. it's the most normal thing to do when sharing a space with someone you're not actively talking to.
so he rises, and approaches spock, and stands at his side. he stands as close as humanly possible without touching him. )
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At the moment, Spock choose to give Eddie a long, unimpressed stare.
After a moment, very pointedly, he lifts his hand. Opens it, palm towards Eddie.
Begins to lower it towards Eddie's hand. ]
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he's made his point — it's clear that spock really, truly doesn't feel awkward within awkward silences — so eddie can move this thing along, and they can get to talking about more fascinating things, like anything that isn't this.
spock is going for his palm, though, and eddie raises his eyebrows. this is a fear that has the highest likelihood of being overcome within a reasonable amount of time. he's not going to get over his fear of fire, or heights, or xenophages, but he can probably be okay with taking spock's hand.
so he does. )
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Fascinating. [ Okay, so he lost the silence contest. He no longer cares, more occupied with looking down at where they're touching skin to skin, feeling the quicksilver run of Eddie's emotions. ] I predicted you would avoid this.
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( like his emotions, which oscillate wildly between 'hey, this isn't so bad' to 'oh, fuck, i've been laid bare and i'm going to die'. there's not even the joy of winning their dumb game — he's too consumed by the thought of being exposed. what's there to expose? he doesn't know. anxiety is such a massless dread, sometimes it's just like being afraid of being afraid. )
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[ He glances down at their joined hands. ]
You are anxious despite a lack of negative stimulus. Please elucidate.
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